Neglect and New Neighbors
by Moxie2
Summary: While Jett neglects, Kayla gets a new neighbor.
1. Plunkett and the Divine Interruption

I got this idea from a Growing Pains episode so the idea of Jett's neglect wasn't mine __

I got this idea of Jett's neglect from a Growing Pains episode.

Neglect and New Neighbors

The doors were shoved open by the students begging for dear life to get out of the brick building compiled of lockers, teachers, and homework. We met the bottom of the stone steps and I stopped, turning to him. I had to smile as he put his arms around my waist. "It's been one long week-"

"Two long weeks-"

"Of-"

I cut him off, "Schedules."

"Tests," he interjected.

"Rehearsals." 

"Studying." 

"Choreographing." 

"And organizing."

I cocked my head to the side. "It's what a class president does." 

"And rehearsing is what I do."

I smirked a little. I knew he would overlook my smirking at his job as a superhero wearing leather tights and being lifted up by bungee cords. 

He cleared his throat and brought a smile back to his face. "Well now that's all over isn't it?"

I returned his smile. "Yeah… I guess it is." He lowered his head a little and I rose to my toes slightly to meet his lips half way. Then the sound of that annoyingly familiar voice caught my ears and by his sigh and the act of him pulling away, it caught Jett's too. We turned to the agent in the tacky work suit and I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Jettster!" Plunkett patted Jett on the back. "Hey Jett, afternoon Little Woman." I forced a small smirk and he turned his attention to a less than enthusiastic Jett. "Hey Plunkett." 

"Great news Jett!" 

"Oh yeah? Great! Call me later. Bye Plunkett!" He grabbed my hand and tried to speed walk away from the LA native. I couldn't help yelping a little as he popped up in front of us. We stopped and Jett turned to me. "K…" 

"Handle your business Silverstone." He smiled a little at me and turned back to the vulture with the receding hairline. 

"New season, big roles, more money, Jettster." He put his arm around my boyfriend and held his hand out in front of them. "Picture it my friend. I can make it happen." 

They walked ahead of me, leaving me with a weekend that felt just as empty as my week had, only without the intrusions of tests, studying, and organizing. 

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I walked into the ever so familiar convenient store and was welcomed by the ding of the overhanging bell and the warm greeting of the friend behind the counter as he wiped off the top. "Hey JB," I replied. 

"How can I help you?" JB asked in his "I'm trying to be professional so that my father doesn't think I'm becoming a normal teenager" voice. 

"Just hear for some milk Mr. Halliburton," I replied before going to the refrigerator hidden behind the small aisles. I slid open the Plexiglas door and took the cold gallon, going back up to the counter. I propped it on the counter and shoved my hand in my pocket, pulling out the green. 

"I thought you and Jett had plans." 

"Oh, you mean Mr. Jackson and I? Well according to Plunkett, something of more importance's come up." 

"Oh." He handed my change and the wrapped plastic bag with the cool carton of milk inside.

"So what are you and Holly up to?" 

"We were just going to go see a movie, but hey, you can come along if you want." 

"That's okay, JB."

"It's all right. At least I've seen Holly everyday this week in places besides the other side of the hall."

I shrugged in agreement. "What else do I have doing on a Friday night? You sure Holly won't mind?" 

"When your girlfriend starts complaining that she loves you but is sick of seeing your face, it's at least time for a group outing." 

I smiled a little more and thanked him before hearing the closing of the store door and the chime of the bell behind me. 

How low have I sunk? In my head there were thoughts about how evil the world is to keep us apart like this, wishing there were more hours in a day so that I can have at least an hour alone without parents, directors, or school requirements to hound down each one of us. I've even sunk so low as to be a third wheel on my friends' dates. You're a sad one Kayla West. 

I'm a little like this pebble I've been kicking around for the last block. I'm just being led around for the benefits of someone else. Well, there's always that dream of breaking away and joining a chain gang.

I kick the pebble and watch it roam free down the street without the bondage of my foot kicking it along. 

My eyes are still glued to my feet as the shuffle along. I'm stopped when I step on the pebble that just came roaming back to me. My brows wrinkle and look up ahead of me to whoever led it back. 

"Lose something?" Long arms stuck in pockets of dark jeans meet me and I look up from them to the white T-shirt and blue stripped flannel covering the stranger. My eyes move up to his face and the hazel eyes adorning it with a look of careless cockiness. 

When I'm done eyeing his features it dawns on me that he's just looking at me while I'm…staring at him. 

"I'm uh…just helping it- along." Now wait for him to say something. He ran his hand through his dark James Dean reminiscent hair.

"Yeah, well, I guess some things do need that little push." That was fast. He talks fast. Uh…

"You really believe that?" 

"From…personal experience. I'd like to think I _know_ that." There was a short silence that happened while I'd dazed. Thinking of the stone. My head shot up when I noticed his hand held out to me. "Vaughn Trager." 

I took it and replied with the name that I assume you all know by now. "Kayla West." I looked over at the two commercial vans marked "Ryder" in the driveway of the next house over.

I nodded in understanding. "I take it you're being led."

"Like a good sheep should be." 

"You don't seem too broken up about it," I noted.

"Well, if everyone in this small town wedged in the middle of North Carolina's like you, then I don't see why I would be." 

"Unfortunately, I just happen to be an original, but welcome to Wilsted, Vaughn Trager." He grinned and our hands fell back to our sides. "I'll see you around, Kayla West." A successful first meeting and I eventually stopped talking to myself in the process. 

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On the oversized movie screen of the small theater, they watched as John Cusack went on about this "mystery girl" he met several years ago and until this day had no yearning to meet again. Kayla looked over to the couple and cringed, even the oddest of couples grew mushy and hopeful over the romanticized comedy. So much for JB's plan of there being no third wheels when your girlfriend begins to loathe you. She looked back up as "Sarah" ripped open the several wrapped and sized boxes to find her engagement ring. "The Wilsted Cineplex is mocking me. Wonderful." 

She reached for the bag of the popcorn cup and found an empty holder on the seat. "Great…" She carefully rescued the cup from between the two, who had wedged themselves together, musing, like the rest of the audience at the scene. "I'll go get more popcorn…" She walked to the end of the carpeted movie aisle and gratefully flung the two metal doors open, leaving "Serendipity" far behind.

Kayla approached the counter and waited in line for her turn, eyeing posters for "The Closet" behind glass cases. Looking down at the bucket like all good victims of serendipity should, she asked for the popcorn and tapped her fingers on the marble counter. "$3.50 refill, sheep." She looked up at the voice, confused by what he had called her, and smiled a little at the dark hair boy in front of her whose muscled arms stuck out slightly from the rolled up sleeves of his long sleeved dress shirt. It sat casually messy without the tie the assistant manager on the other side of the room wore so neatly. Vaughn Trager, self-proclaimed sheep, had somehow reminded me of one Mr. John Cusack. 

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That character's personalities are a bit off, but I haven't really been interested much in watching reruns of FJJ. If ne has ne idea of when the new season's starting, please let me know. Anyway, more to come by the weekend. You've read, now feel free to review.


	2. The Plan

Neglect and New Neighbors: Chapter 2 ****

Neglect and New Neighbors: Chapter 2

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I couldn't help but smile shyly at the theater's new worker before greeting him. "Hi Vaughn…"

He smiled back and took the bucket of popcorn from off the counter. 

"You know Kayla, popcorn just happens to be very high in cholesterol."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Really? I'll take my chances." He place noticed the lowering of popcorn supply and pushed the right blue button on the machine. "If you eat this bucket of popcorn you might not have anymore of those chances you take for granted." 

"Even though you're being pretty rude, trying to deprive me of my right to popcorn, I think I deserve popcorn for you automatically assuming I'm a sheep." When he got no response from pounding the button, he tried turning the knob. He opened his mouth to say something when I stopped him.

"Do you need help?" He turned to face me and looked over my shoulder without answering. I turned to see what he had glanced at and spotted the properly dress manager in his suit. "No. I got it," he answered. 

He forced the knob this time. He relaxed and went for the ladle when he heard a few pops come from the machine. I watched him watch the popcorn fill and soon the pops began to pop faster and kernels became popcorn a lot faster than they had before. 

"Uh oh." I heard him mumble and I thought the same thing. Popcorn came spilling from the top of the opening in the machine and some came shooting out from the bottom. He reached for the bucket trying to stifle the machine and groped and hit and the buttons and knobs. The more he did the more popcorn was produced. The manager in the suit came running over to the almost hilarious disaster and began shouting at Vaughn who was still beating at the machine. A piece of popcorn came flying from at my forehead and I stepped back from the kernels. The one in the suit reached from under the machine, despite the fact that he was now covered in popcorn and popcorn butter, as was Vaughn. I bit my lip, trying desperately hard not to laugh like the people now behind me in a queue had been doing. The popcorn's popping suddenly slowed before stopping and he just looked on at his employee as if Vaughn just committed several felony's and stolen a piece of candy from the local candy store owned by a one legged grandmother. He approached Vaughn and whispered words I couldn't hear from my position behind the counter and in front of the line that was now demanding. I got the message when I saw the black nameplate ripped off of his white dress shirt. He handed Vaughn something from his pocket before walking over to the cash register and looked at me, waiting to take my order. 

"Are you ordering or not Ms.?" 

Vaughn ran a buttered hand through an already slimed mass of hair and left the counter. 

"I-uh…never mind." I left my place in line and followed the dejected butterball out the door. 

I spotted walking towards the end of the block. "Vaughn!" I called after him. "Vaughn!" 

He turned to spot me and I saw him cast his eyes down before forcing a smile. I ran to the end to meet him. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm all right I guess…just jobless." 

"It was your first day."

"My first two hours." I looked down with him as we began walking.

"Oh."

"They needed someone right away."

"There are other jobs that don't involve working for someone a year older than you and with more grease on his face than a deep fryer." 

"Other jobs available for me to writhe in humiliation?" 

"Sure. If you're into that." There was a pause in the small talk as we walked along. Suddenly, interrupting the silence, he laughed and I looked him oddly. "What?" 

"Did you… see his face? He was laughing harder now and I started to laugh with him as he clutched his side and gripped the side of a building. Feeding my laughter was the fact that I did see his face. His vein was bulging out of his head. His tie nearly choked him when his neck started to bulge and his eyes got fiery. 

"I…thought…his head was going to…explode! Or his pimple!" He continued, still laughing. 

We ended up sobering next to the wall, chuckling a little to ourselves. Then he turned to me. 

"You still want that popcorn?" 

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He pushed open the heavy metal door and I stepped in behind him. He eased the door shut and we pressed ourselves against the wall of the room in the theater, Vaughn behind me so no one else would get smeared with butter. We pushed up unnoticed by the movie-watchers to the back of the usher free room and stepped out into the vacant area. I pressed my back against the column in by the doors. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"You wanted popcorn."

"Not this badly. I thought you were joking." 

He smiled. "Well, now it's just harmless fun." 

"Sure, if you like felonies." 

"Going to a movie theater's a felony?"

"Breaking and entering is a felony." 

He raised a brow. "You don't have a record? Isn't making a record the only thing to do in Wilsted?" 

I suddenly got very offended. "Aside from churning our own butter, it probably is."

He sighed, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Could've fooled me."

"I'm sorry, okay?" He paused, yet looking hopeful asked, "Do you still want to do this?" 

I looked at him and suddenly thought of how excited I'd been by the thought of doing this and nodded. He grinned, "Great."

He poked his head around the side of the column and looked over at the manager behind the counter. The suit clad vein popper was too busy polishing the popcorn machine to notice buttered Vaughn. He grabbed my hand that had already been buttered and ran quickly from around the corridor, across the wall standing across from the concession stand and around _that_ corner to the front of a door marked "Employee's Only". He shoved a hand in his pocket, trying to take apart the sticky material of his pants pocket. He pulled two keys and took one to the lock on the door. He whispered, "You would think someone as orderly as Mort Chamberlain would have taken an ex-employee's key away." 

"I guess he was too busy trying to clean the popcorn off the floor," I smiled to myself. 

He pushed open the door and quickly ushered me in. He groped the wall in the dark room and flicked the light switch. Racks of purple and black uniforms lined the room and he fingered them, picking out two uniforms hung neatly on two hangers. He handed one to me. "Here, put this on." I took it, eyeing him oddly. He put his down on a low bench that stood close to the door and began to unbutton the sticky buttons on the front of his shirt. I froze up as I watched him take off his shirt. He noticed my look as he dropped his shirt on the floor. "What?" He asked, completely oblivious and almost worried by the stunned look I threw. I looked down from him, away from him, in every direction but his. "I…uh…" 

"Oh…oh!" He picked up his shirt. "Sorry. I didn't think you'd mind."

Still avoiding him, I replied, "I-uh…I don't. I just-" He chuckled under his breath and took up his shirt, turning to the door. I stopped him. "No, that's okay. I'll watch…the door." I left the room and closed the door tightly behind me. I breathed slowly, trying to shut him out of my head and remind myself of Jett. I hadn't thought of Jett in nearly an hour. That was not a good thing especially when there are pictures of just how admirable in the physical sense this guy that's not my boyfriend happens to be. 

I felt the door move from behind me and I moved a little, letting him pass. He moved aside and let me in. I knew by his look that he was trying to hide a smile from me and I felt red creep up to my face before I went into the room. I threw on the uniform and tucked my clothes my change purse in a space beside Vaughn's buttered ones in a corner. I wiped my hands and headed for the door. As I reached it, Vaughn jumped in the room and I jumped back violently at the unexpected enter. "V-" He covered my mouth with his hand and kept silent for a few moments before calming down. "We have to stay in here a few more minutes." He removed his hands. "What-why?" 

"The hawk's circling the theater. He's preparing for the ten o' clock rush." 

"So what do we do 'til then?" We kept our voices hushed. 

"We have twenty minutes to shut off the four big movies in the building and-" 

"Excuse me?" 

"We have to shut off the big movies." 

"Vaughn, you lost your mind?" 

He held his carefree look even though I looked like I was about to pop a vessel myself. "If you're here with me, then obviously I'm not the only one." 

"Stop using my stupidity against me!" He covered my mouth against, shushing me when I went over the hushed tone we had silently agreed on. He smiled at my comment, and looked almost unsure of what to say. He took a breath. "Twenty minutes, and then we go the front. Gordo's a hard one but-" I mumbled under his hand and he removed it. "Gordo Pongee?" 

"I'd hate to think there was more than one." 

"Great," I muttered a little less than excited. 

"What?" 

"Gordo's had a crush on me since the third grade. I'm not going near him." 

"West, why do u make things so difficult? If I didn't like you so much, I'd smack you." 

"Gee, thanks." 

"Anytime." I stopped to pout. "Please?" I shook my head repetitively. "No way." 

"I love you." 

"Thank you." 

"Don't you want to make Chamberlain to look like an idiot?" 

"I just wanted popcorn and to never see Serendipity again. Neither of which looks like it's going to happen anytime soon."

He stopped pouting. "I'll pay you." 

"How much?"

"Five?" 

I smirked. 

"Eight." 

I shook my head. 

"Ten." 

I looked up at him and smiled. "I love you." He took my hand and I heard him whisper under his breath, "Gold digger." 

"Criminal," I shot back as he pushed for a small opening in the doorway. A little light streamed through and he stepped out of the room with me following. We pressed ourselves against the wall and he peaked around the corner. We ran quickly around the corner and we went back the way we came to the column. He stopped short and headed back around the column. "Where're you going?" I whispered after him. He ignored me and headed for the concession stand. I watched him around the column at the booth as he dipped the ladle in the machine and took the popcorn to the bucket, running back. 

"Love me yet?" He asked as he handed me the bucket. I savored the popcorn before turning back to him. "Oh, so very much." 

We passed the doors of the Serendipity Theater and reached the end of the way. "What now?" 

"God bless the employee's master key." He held it up and placed it in the lock of yet another door, turning the key and opening it. I followed him into the room and I was met with stairs that I wasn't expecting. I knew he was grinning at me even though I could barely see anything in the darkness and had tripped over my own two feet. I groped the wall and I felt his hand support my arm a little as we walked up the steps. The room at the top was lit with a dim blue and a teen I didn't recognize sat with a comic with the film rolling all around him. He dropped his legs that were propped up on the table and stood. "What are you two doing here?" 

"I need to use the film reel, man." 

"You just started working here. You have to work your way up and you can't bring girls up here, man."

"She's a friend, Mike and I'm not here for the job."

"Chamberlain?" 

He nodded. "Chamberlain." 

Mike suddenly got very excited. "What do you need?" 

"What do you got?" Vaughn and Mike went over to another door and revealed a stack of films. Vaughn marveled for a minute and so did I. Vaughn stooped down and picked out a film. He stood up and handed Mike the reel. Mike stopped the ongoing movie and there were big sighs and groans below in the theater. He put down Vaughn's film and all three of us watched as it began to play. Mickey came up on the screen in black and white jumping from foot to foot in his sailor shorts. We had to smile at how silly in looked and I ate my popcorn as we watched the words come up for the silent film. The audience on the other hand, booed and yelled at the screen and we bolted to the door. 

It worked like that for all three of the other movies when all we had to mention was Chamberlain and revenge was easily supported. Training Day had been replaced with several "Tellitubbies" movies. "K-Pax" was replaced by "Barney and Friends", but I believe our worst response came from replacing "From Hell" with "Vanilla Ice's After School Specials."

I laughed with him as we headed for the door and I threw out the empty bucket we had cleaned out after a while. Our feet led us to the exit of the theater and outside to the booth where Gordo stood with the line of Friday night's expected numbers online. 

"It's our last stop of the night. Make it a good one, Kayla."

I groaned before tapping on the side of the Plexiglas, interrupting Gordo and his sale. He turned to me and grinned. Vaughn stretched out his leg, and kicked me. I smiled weakly, getting the message. 

"Hey, uh…hi Gordo." 

"Hi Kayla!" 

"Gordo, I was wondering if you'd like to… go see a movie with me." I heard Vaughn chuckle and I stretched out my leg to kick him back to his hiding place out of Gordo's view. People in the line began to shout to know about the holdup. 

"I-I can't, Kayla. I've got to work." I took a deep breath and propped up my chin with a palm. I smiled at him and tilted my head a little to the side. "What's more important Gordo? Selling tickets to ungrateful customers… or seeing a movie with…me?" That last part was increasingly difficult to say but from Gordo's ear to ear grin, it was worth it. Gordo stepped eagerly from outside the booth and grabbed my hand as I forced a smile. He looked back at the booth and frowned a little. "What about the booth?" 

"I'll watch it!" Vaughn stepped up. 

"I don't know…" Gordo answered unsure. I turned to Gordo, who had me squirming under his arm. 

"Uh…Gordo, you don't know Vaughn like I do. He's very…"

"Trustworthy," Vaughn jumped in. 

Gordo grinned giddily at me. "If you say so." My lips twitched as I forced my self to grin with him. 

"Great! Let's go." I pulled him from the booth and we walked back into the theater. Outside I could hear Vaughn shouting that the tickets were free and I looked over my shoulder to see him throwing them to the mob. I moved Gordo quickly out of earshot as he babbled on about leeches. Before I knew it, customers were coming to my rescue, storming through the doors and past the ushers that were meant to check their stubs. They stormed by Gordo and me and I released myself from his arm, pretending to lose him as I jetted for the door. 

I felt Vaughn grasp me and I couldn't help grinning. "Nice work, Criminal." 

"I try." 

I pulled him back into the crowd. 

"We're we going?" He asked me. 

"I'm going back to the storage room."

"We can't go back in there!" I stopped and turned back to face him. "What do you mean we can't go back in there?" 

"We'll get caught for sure." 

"What? I can't just leave my clothes in there and I can't go home like this, Vaughn." I turned and journeyed for the door through the crowd. I turned the corner with Vaughn calling after me, trying to grab my arms. "Kayla! Kayla! K-" We both froze when Chamberlain slowed down his tracks and was now face to face with us. 

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"I thought I fired you, Trager!" A distraught Mort suddenly looked very angry for a seventeen year old Mathelete. 

"Uh…" Vaughn relaxed a little and let go of my arm. "Well you see, there was just a minor technicality with that. You didn't expect me to go home covered in butter did you?"

"Preferably." 

Chamberlain looked over to me and shook his head. "You did this, didn't you? How'd you manage to drag Kayla West into your web of deceit?" 

"Some sweet lovin'" Vaughn grinned and I looked over at him angered and shocked all in one. He went on anyway relishing the look on our faces. "She may be small, but she's an animal in the sack." 

"Vaughn!" I punched him in the arm with my fist and he laughed, clutching his arm.

"That's it. I'm calling Mr. Madison." He shook his head, taking out a cell phone similar to ones I had seen employees that worked the reels with. Vaughn ran over to him, placed a quick hand on his shoulder and stammered. "N-no, Mort, Mort. You can't call Mr. Madison. He'll freak!"

Mort looked up at him, unchanged and professional. "That's the point, Trager."

"No. No…Mort, look." 

"You don't have to pay me. I'll give you back your money. I'll fix the films," he said, trying to take the phone from him. Chamberlain moved further away and I stopped him. "Look, Mort. You- you don't want to do this! I mean… you've got…integrity. This whole mess was one big mistake. A mistake that can easily be fixed if you keep quiet about this." I pouted and looked straight into his eyes. "Please?" I stopped for a second and parted his lips a little as if he were going to say something but closed it. Then Mr. Madison's voice came into earshot. "Hello? Hello?" 

Mort started up again and pulled the phone to his ear and called to the manager, "Mr. Madison!" 

"Dammit Mort!" We pounced on Mort and the criminal grabbed the phone from Mort's hands. "We're really sorry Mort," he said coveting the phone as I held Mort back. "Stop it! Thief!" Vaughn turned to him after turning off the cell phone and held it up in the air as I struggled with Mort. 

"Mort, dear assistant manager, I'm not the enemy here." Mort grabbed at the phone and Vaughn shove him back. "Think of how great you'll be once everyone hears you gave away free tickets!"

"You gave away free tickets?" Mort shouted, obviously surprised. Mort shoved forward faster than before and I lost my grip on him and Mort ran towards Vaughn. Vaughn backed away and shouted quickly, "Like Mary Finagler!" He said too late for Mort to stop from falling on Vaughn, but Chamberlain suddenly brightened, giggling. "Mary Finagler." Vaughn shoved Mort to the spot next to him and nodded as he got off the floor. "Mary Finagler. She thinks you're great. A real hero." Mort grinned. "Me?" 

Vaughn interrupted. "Well…me." 

"But I'm assistant manager."

"Oh, so now it was your idea!" I stood back and smiled as this turned even more into something from a television sitcom. 

"If I let you off the hook, promise not to tell Mary Finagler it wasn't my idea?" 

"Would I ever let you down Mort?" 

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"That went well."

"Yeah, okay."

"What? I thought you were having fun." We stopped our walking.

"And the many, 'are you out of your mind' looks I threw you weren'u hints enough?" 

"I must have passed them off as gas." I feigned a laugh and we started walking again. 

"You're hilarious, you know that?"

He stopped and pulled me to stop with him. 

"There wasn't one point in this whole night when you just wanted to stop and crack up laughing?" I started walking again and he ran to catch up with me.

"Nope."

"Not even when Chamberlain ran around the theater trying to set the screens back? Or when Barney began to sing his beloved theme song and people started pelting him with Milkyways?"

"Nope."

"That's funny because I remember you laughing several times throughout the night." 

I was silent for a second, smiling a little. "You're excessively more annoying at night than you are charming." He grinned. "You thought I was charming?" 

"I meant descent."

"You said _charming_." 

"Now who's being difficult?" I tilted my head.

He grinned at me, "Oh, did I say difficult? I meant _charming_." 

I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling. "You're parents aren't going to freak about you coming home, sopping in butter with popcorn still in your hair?" 

"My mom will be too excited that I've made new friends and I haven't been arrested."

"You do this kind of thing a lot, don't you?" He looked up innocently. "What kind of thing?"

"The kind of thing where someone goes wrong by you and instead of just pinning their underwear up a poll you decide to psychological screw with their heads?" 

"Eh. It passes the time." We stopped in front of his gate. "Goodnight Kayla." 

"Goodnight Vaughn." 

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Several hours later, on the jovial Wilsted afternoon, I was walked toward Jett's house, expecting to meet the tired-out star that was probably playing basketball in his driveway. Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting Vaughn to be playing basketball in the driveway with him. I couldn't help but smile shyly at the theater's new worker before greeting him. "Hi Vaughn…"

He smiled back and took the bucket of popcorn from off the counter. 

"You know Kayla, popcorn just happens to be very high in cholesterol."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Really? I'll take my chances." He place noticed the lowering of popcorn supply and pushed the right blue button on the machine. "If you eat this bucket of popcorn you might not have anymore of those chances you take for granted." 

"Even though you're being pretty rude, trying to deprive me of my right to popcorn, I think I deserve popcorn for you automatically assuming I'm a sheep." When he got no response from pounding the button, he tried turning the knob. He opened his mouth to say something when I stopped him.

"Do you need help?" He turned to face me and looked over my shoulder without answering. I turned to see what he had glanced at and spotted the properly dress manager in his suit. "No. I got it," he answered. 

He forced the knob this time. He relaxed and went for the ladle when he heard a few pops come from the machine. I watched him watch the popcorn fill and soon the pops began to pop faster and kernels became popcorn a lot faster than they had before. 

"Uh oh." I heard him mumble and I thought the same thing. Popcorn came spilling from the top of the opening in the machine and some came shooting out from the bottom. He reached for the bucket trying to stifle the machine and groped and hit and the buttons and knobs. The more he did the more popcorn was produced. The manager in the suit came running over to the almost hilarious disaster and began shouting at Vaughn who was still beating at the machine. A piece of popcorn came flying from at my forehead and I stepped back from the kernels. The one in the suit reached from under the machine, despite the fact that he was now covered in popcorn and popcorn butter, as was Vaughn. I bit my lip, trying desperately hard not to laugh like the people now behind me in a queue had been doing. The popcorn's popping suddenly slowed before stopping and he just looked on at his employee as if Vaughn just committed several felony's and stolen a piece of candy from the local candy store owned by a one legged grandmother. He approached Vaughn and whispered words I couldn't hear from my position behind the counter and in front of the line that was now demanding. I got the message when I saw the black nameplate ripped off of his white dress shirt. He handed Vaughn something from his pocket before walking over to the cash register and looked at me, waiting to take my order. 

"Are you ordering or not Ms.?" 

Vaughn ran a buttered hand through an already slimed mass of hair and left the counter. 

"I-uh…never mind." I left my place in line and followed the dejected butterball out the door. 

I spotted walking towards the end of the block. "Vaughn!" I called after him. "Vaughn!" 

He turned to spot me and I saw him cast his eyes down before forcing a smile. I ran to the end to meet him. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm all right I guess…just jobless." 

"It was your first day."

"My first two hours." I looked down with him as we began walking.

"Oh."

"They needed someone right away."

"There are other jobs that don't involve working for someone a year older than you and with more grease on his face than a deep fryer." 

"Other jobs available for me to writhe in humiliation?" 

"Sure. If you're into that." There was a pause in the small talk as we walked along. Suddenly, interrupting the silence, he laughed and I looked him oddly. "What?" 

"Did you… see his face? He was laughing harder now and I started to laugh with him as he clutched his side and gripped the side of a building. Feeding my laughter was the fact that I did see his face. His vein was bulging out of his head. His tie nearly choked him when his neck started to bulge and his eyes got fiery. 

"I…thought…his head was going to…explode! Or his pimple!" He continued, still laughing. 

We ended up sobering next to the wall, chuckling a little to ourselves. Then he turned to me. 

"You still want that popcorn?" 

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He pushed open the heavy metal door and I stepped in behind him. He eased the door shut and we pressed ourselves against the wall of the room in the theater, Vaughn behind me so no one else would get smeared with butter. We pushed up unnoticed by the movie-watchers to the back of the usher free room and stepped out into the vacant area. I pressed my back against the column in by the doors. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"You wanted popcorn."

"Not this badly. I thought you were joking." 

He smiled. "Well, now it's just harmless fun." 

"Sure, if you like felonies." 

"Going to a movie theater's a felony?"

"Breaking and entering is a felony." 

He raised a brow. "You don't have a record? Isn't making a record the only thing to do in Wilsted?" 

I suddenly got very offended. "Aside from churning our own butter, it probably is."

He sighed, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Could've fooled me."

"I'm sorry, okay?" He paused, yet looking hopeful asked, "Do you still want to do this?" 

I looked at him and suddenly thought of how excited I'd been by the thought of doing this and nodded. He grinned, "Great."

He poked his head around the side of the column and looked over at the manager behind the counter. The suit clad vein popper was too busy polishing the popcorn machine to notice buttered Vaughn. He grabbed my hand that had already been buttered and ran quickly from around the corridor, across the wall standing across from the concession stand and around _that_ corner to the front of a door marked "Employee's Only". He shoved a hand in his pocket, trying to take apart the sticky material of his pants pocket. He pulled two keys and took one to the lock on the door. He whispered, "You would think someone as orderly as Mort Chamberlain would have taken an ex-employee's key away." 

"I guess he was too busy trying to clean the popcorn off the floor," I smiled to myself. 

He pushed open the door and quickly ushered me in. He groped the wall in the dark room and flicked the light switch. Racks of purple and black uniforms lined the room and he fingered them, picking out two uniforms hung neatly on two hangers. He handed one to me. "Here, put this on." I took it, eyeing him oddly. He put his down on a low bench that stood close to the door and began to unbutton the sticky buttons on the front of his shirt. I froze up as I watched him take off his shirt. He noticed my look as he dropped his shirt on the floor. "What?" He asked, completely oblivious and almost worried by the stunned look I threw. I looked down from him, away from him, in every direction but his. "I…uh…" 

"Oh…oh!" He picked up his shirt. "Sorry. I didn't think you'd mind."

Still avoiding him, I replied, "I-uh…I don't. I just-" He chuckled under his breath and took up his shirt, turning to the door. I stopped him. "No, that's okay. I'll watch…the door." I left the room and closed the door tightly behind me. I breathed slowly, trying to shut him out of my head and remind myself of Jett. I hadn't thought of Jett in nearly an hour. That was not a good thing especially when there are pictures of just how admirable in the physical sense this guy that's not my boyfriend happens to be. 

I felt the door move from behind me and I moved a little, letting him pass. He moved aside and let me in. I knew by his look that he was trying to hide a smile from me and I felt red creep up to my face before I went into the room. I threw on the uniform and tucked my clothes my change purse in a space beside Vaughn's buttered ones in a corner. I wiped my hands and headed for the door. As I reached it, Vaughn jumped in the room and I jumped back violently at the unexpected enter. "V-" He covered my mouth with his hand and kept silent for a few moments before calming down. "We have to stay in here a few more minutes." He removed his hands. "What-why?" 

"The hawk's circling the theater. He's preparing for the ten o' clock rush." 

"So what do we do 'til then?" We kept our voices hushed. 

"We have twenty minutes to shut off the four big movies in the building and-" 

"Excuse me?" 

"We have to shut off the big movies." 

"Vaughn, you lost your mind?" 

He held his carefree look even though I looked like I was about to pop a vessel myself. "If you're here with me, then obviously I'm not the only one." 

"Stop using my stupidity against me!" He covered my mouth against, shushing me when I went over the hushed tone we had silently agreed on. He smiled at my comment, and looked almost unsure of what to say. He took a breath. "Twenty minutes, and then we go the front. Gordo's a hard one but-" I mumbled under his hand and he removed it. "Gordo Pongee?" 

"I'd hate to think there was more than one." 

"Great," I muttered a little less than excited. 

"What?" 

"Gordo's had a crush on me since the third grade. I'm not going near him." 

"West, why do u make things so difficult? If I didn't like you so much, I'd smack you." 

"Gee, thanks." 

"Anytime." I stopped to pout. "Please?" I shook my head repetitively. "No way." 

"I love you." 

"Thank you." 

"Don't you want to make Chamberlain to look like an idiot?" 

"I just wanted popcorn and to never see Serendipity again. Neither of which looks like it's going to happen anytime soon."

He stopped pouting. "I'll pay you." 

"How much?"

"Five?" 

I smirked. 

"Eight." 

I shook my head. 

"Ten." 

I looked up at him and smiled. "I love you." He took my hand and I heard him whisper under his breath, "Gold digger." 

"Criminal," I shot back as he pushed for a small opening in the doorway. A little light streamed through and he stepped out of the room with me following. We pressed ourselves against the wall and he peaked around the corner. We ran quickly around the corner and we went back the way we came to the column. He stopped short and headed back around the column. "Where're you going?" I whispered after him. He ignored me and headed for the concession stand. I watched him around the column at the booth as he dipped the ladle in the machine and took the popcorn to the bucket, running back. 

"Love me yet?" He asked as he handed me the bucket. I savored the popcorn before turning back to him. "Oh, so very much." 

We passed the doors of the Serendipity Theater and reached the end of the way. "What now?" 

"God bless the employee's master key." He held it up and placed it in the lock of yet another door, turning the key and opening it. I followed him into the room and I was met with stairs that I wasn't expecting. I knew he was grinning at me even though I could barely see anything in the darkness and had tripped over my own two feet. I groped the wall and I felt his hand support my arm a little as we walked up the steps. The room at the top was lit with a dim blue and a teen I didn't recognize sat with a comic with the film rolling all around him. He dropped his legs that were propped up on the table and stood. "What are you two doing here?" 

"I need to use the film reel, man." 

"You just started working here. You have to work your way up and you can't bring girls up here, man."

"She's a friend, Mike and I'm not here for the job."

"Chamberlain?" 

He nodded. "Chamberlain." 

Mike suddenly got very excited. "What do you need?" 

"What do you got?" Vaughn and Mike went over to another door and revealed a stack of films. Vaughn marveled for a minute and so did I. Vaughn stooped down and picked out a film. He stood up and handed Mike the reel. Mike stopped the ongoing movie and there were big sighs and groans below in the theater. He put down Vaughn's film and all three of us watched as it began to play. Mickey came up on the screen in black and white jumping from foot to foot in his sailor shorts. We had to smile at how silly in looked and I ate my popcorn as we watched the words come up for the silent film. The audience on the other hand, booed and yelled at the screen and we bolted to the door. 

It worked like that for all three of the other movies when all we had to mention was Chamberlain and revenge was easily supported. Training Day had been replaced with several "Tellitubbies" movies. "K-Pax" was replaced by "Barney and Friends", but I believe our worst response came from replacing "From Hell" with "Vanilla Ice's After School Specials."

I laughed with him as we headed for the door and I threw out the empty bucket we had cleaned out after a while. Our feet led us to the exit of the theater and outside to the booth where Gordo stood with the line of Friday night's expected numbers online. 

"It's our last stop of the night. Make it a good one, Kayla."

I groaned before tapping on the side of the Plexiglas, interrupting Gordo and his sale. He turned to me and grinned. Vaughn stretched out his leg, and kicked me. I smiled weakly, getting the message. 

"Hey, uh…hi Gordo." 

"Hi Kayla!" 

"Gordo, I was wondering if you'd like to… go see a movie with me." I heard Vaughn chuckle and I stretched out my leg to kick him back to his hiding place out of Gordo's view. People in the line began to shout to know about the holdup. 

"I-I can't, Kayla. I've got to work." I took a deep breath and propped up my chin with a palm. I smiled at him and tilted my head a little to the side. "What's more important Gordo? Selling tickets to ungrateful customers… or seeing a movie with…me?" That last part was increasingly difficult to say but from Gordo's ear to ear grin, it was worth it. Gordo stepped eagerly from outside the booth and grabbed my hand as I forced a smile. He looked back at the booth and frowned a little. "What about the booth?" 

"I'll watch it!" Vaughn stepped up. 

"I don't know…" Gordo answered unsure. I turned to Gordo, who had me squirming under his arm. 

"Uh…Gordo, you don't know Vaughn like I do. He's very…"

"Trustworthy," Vaughn jumped in. 

Gordo grinned giddily at me. "If you say so." My lips twitched as I forced my self to grin with him. 

"Great! Let's go." I pulled him from the booth and we walked back into the theater. Outside I could hear Vaughn shouting that the tickets were free and I looked over my shoulder to see him throwing them to the mob. I moved Gordo quickly out of earshot as he babbled on about leeches. Before I knew it, customers were coming to my rescue, storming through the doors and past the ushers that were meant to check their stubs. They stormed by Gordo and me and I released myself from his arm, pretending to lose him as I jetted for the door. 

I felt Vaughn grasp me and I couldn't help grinning. "Nice work, Criminal." 

"I try." 

I pulled him back into the crowd. 

"We're we going?" He asked me. 

"I'm going back to the storage room."

"We can't go back in there!" I stopped and turned back to face him. "What do you mean we can't go back in there?" 

"We'll get caught for sure." 

"What? I can't just leave my clothes in there and I can't go home like this, Vaughn." I turned and journeyed for the door through the crowd. I turned the corner with Vaughn calling after me, trying to grab my arms. "Kayla! Kayla! K-" We both froze when Chamberlain slowed down his tracks and was now face to face with us. 

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"I thought I fired you, Trager!" A distraught Mort suddenly looked very angry for a seventeen year old Mathelete. 

"Uh…" Vaughn relaxed a little and let go of my arm. "Well you see, there was just a minor technicality with that. You didn't expect me to go home covered in butter did you?"

"Preferably." 

Chamberlain looked over to me and shook his head. "You did this, didn't you? How'd you manage to drag Kayla West into your web of deceit?" 

"Some sweet lovin'" Vaughn grinned and I looked over at him angered and shocked all in one. He went on anyway relishing the look on our faces. "She may be small, but she's an animal in the sack." 

"Vaughn!" I punched him in the arm with my fist and he laughed, clutching his arm.

"That's it. I'm calling Mr. Madison." He shook his head, taking out a cell phone similar to ones I had seen employees that worked the reels with. Vaughn ran over to him, placed a quick hand on his shoulder and stammered. "N-no, Mort, Mort. You can't call Mr. Madison. He'll freak!"

Mort looked up at him, unchanged and professional. "That's the point, Trager."

"No. No…Mort, look." 

"You don't have to pay me. I'll give you back your money. I'll fix the films," he said, trying to take the phone from him. Chamberlain moved further away and I stopped him. "Look, Mort. You- you don't want to do this! I mean… you've got…integrity. This whole mess was one big mistake. A mistake that can easily be fixed if you keep quiet about this." I pouted and looked straight into his eyes. "Please?" I stopped for a second and parted his lips a little as if he were going to say something but closed it. Then Mr. Madison's voice came into earshot. "Hello? Hello?" 

Mort started up again and pulled the phone to his ear and called to the manager, "Mr. Madison!" 

"Dammit Mort!" We pounced on Mort and the criminal grabbed the phone from Mort's hands. "We're really sorry Mort," he said coveting the phone as I held Mort back. "Stop it! Thief!" Vaughn turned to him after turning off the cell phone and held it up in the air as I struggled with Mort. 

"Mort, dear assistant manager, I'm not the enemy here." Mort grabbed at the phone and Vaughn shove him back. "Think of how great you'll be once everyone hears you gave away free tickets!"

"You gave away free tickets?" Mort shouted, obviously surprised. Mort shoved forward faster than before and I lost my grip on him and Mort ran towards Vaughn. Vaughn backed away and shouted quickly, "Like Mary Finagler!" He said too late for Mort to stop from falling on Vaughn, but Chamberlain suddenly brightened, giggling. "Mary Finagler." Vaughn shoved Mort to the spot next to him and nodded as he got off the floor. "Mary Finagler. She thinks you're great. A real hero." Mort grinned. "Me?" 

Vaughn interrupted. "Well…me." 

"But I'm assistant manager."

"Oh, so now it was your idea!" I stood back and smiled as this turned even more into something from a television sitcom. 

"If I let you off the hook, promise not to tell Mary Finagler it wasn't my idea?" 

"Would I ever let you down Mort?" 

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"That went well."

"Yeah, okay."

"What? I thought you were having fun." We stopped our walking.

"And the many, 'are you out of your mind' looks I threw you weren'u hints enough?" 

"I must have passed them off as gas." I feigned a laugh and we started walking again. 

"You're hilarious, you know that?"

He stopped and pulled me to stop with him. 

"There wasn't one point in this whole night when you just wanted to stop and crack up laughing?" I started walking again and he ran to catch up with me.

"Nope."

"Not even when Chamberlain ran around the theater trying to set the screens back? Or when Barney began to sing his beloved theme song and people started pelting him with Milkyways?"

"Nope."

"That's funny because I remember you laughing several times throughout the night." 

I was silent for a second, smiling a little. "You're excessively more annoying at night than you are charming." He grinned. "You thought I was charming?" 

"I meant descent."

"You said _charming_." 

"Now who's being difficult?" I tilted my head.

He grinned at me, "Oh, did I say difficult? I meant _charming_." 

I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling. "You're parents aren't going to freak about you coming home, sopping in butter with popcorn still in your hair?" 

"My mom will be too excited that I've made new friends and I haven't been arrested."

"You do this kind of thing a lot, don't you?" He looked up innocently. "What kind of thing?"

"The kind of thing where someone goes wrong by you and instead of just pinning their underwear up a poll you decide to psychological screw with their heads?" 

"Eh. It passes the time. Don't need regrets." We stopped in front of his gate. "Goodnight Kayla." 

"Goodnight Vaughn." 

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I was walking towards Jett's house, expecting to meet Jett who was probably playing basketball in his driveway. Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting Vaughn to be there.

"Uh...hey!" I called out, making my presence known to the dueling boys. Jett stopped playing when he noticed me and struggled for breath while he looked in despair as Vaughn made a basket. Jett sucked it up and smiled as he approached me. 

"Hey." 

"Hey," I mimicked. Through the corner of one I, I noticed Vaughn turn and walk towards us, looking just as surprised to see me, as I had been to see him. I turned the eye back to Jett who was leaning in to kiss me and whom I pecked quickly before pulling back. I regretted doing that. Jett looked confused for a second, brushed off, even but Vaughn cleared his throat, interrupting. 

"Uh yeah…Kayla…this is Vaughn." 

"We've met." 

Jett asked a little dumbfounded. "Really?" 

" Yeah, really." Vaughn answered. "But, you know, when Jett was telling me about his girlfriend, I had no idea it was you." 

"Surprise, surprise. So how did you guys meet?" 

"I just got back from shooting and came out here to ball when I saw Vaughn." I nodded slowly and stopped when he asked me how I met Vaughn. "Uh…well, pretty much the same way you did, only without the physical exertion." 

"Jett," Sheriff Wood interrupted us as he came out of the house. "Phone call." He went inside the house and Jett excused himself, following. 

"Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?" Vaughn turned to me.

"What difference would it have made?" 

"It would've saved a lot of time…" He mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It means that if you had told me you had a boyfriend I wouldn't be standing here listening to you justify yourself while I for the first time regret meeting you." 

"You don't like regretting things, do you?" He gave me his response with a glare in the corner of his eye. "Some things just can't help to be regretted." With that left, leaving me to feel, just so peachy.

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If I babbled a lot/bit, it's only because there was a lot of Lorelei in 10/30's Gilmore Girls and I've just finished watching my taped episode. 

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	3. Prelude to Cheating

III

Prelude to Cheating

His presence at school was definitely noticeable now that I'd met Mr. Vaughn Trager. I on the other hand appeared a little less than noticeable. He took ignoring me and made it into art form. Vaughn had six classes with me and unless prompted by Jett or J.B. (three musketeers recently), sat far, far away. This, in all respects, got frustrating. Not because he wasn't speaking to me, or he had become one of my boyfriend's best friends, but because I couldn't speak to him. What would I say if he actually contained himself for a moment long enough for apologies? Vaughn made me nervous and queasy and all those other things come along with guilt. I wasn't supposed to feel guilty but I did. I like Vaughn, if it hasn't been evident enough. This only made it harder for me to speak to him. When I saw him, I thought of Jett. This bothered me. My mind didn't get occupied with thoughts of love and cuddles, but of what Jett would say if he knew what I thought of- about Vaughn. God, what would Vaughn say? The guilt got heavier, until one afternoon when something happened to make it unbearable… unbearable and fun. 

The after school meeting of student council cleared from the vacant classroom and I, as president happened to be the last one out the door. I rushed to my locker, packing and repacking all the books I either didn't have a chance to stuff in earlier, or take out earlier. Either way, I was there, witness to the end of football tryouts. 

The football rushes trudged the halls, apparently victim of Brunes, Wilsted High football coach. The man was a monster whose intent was clearing the riffraff. At the moment the team had about four players of jerky, over muscled jocks. 

The new players still rushed and who do you think I saw at the end of mob? He stopped behind me and I turned to see him winded. He hunched over a little before straightening up and controlling his breath. I raised a brow. "Football?" 

"I didn't really tell you that much about me." 

"How could you if you weren't speaking to me?" He opened his mouth to say something but closed it and reshaped it. "Wait for me." 

"What?"

"Ten minutes." I swallowed my words. He was staring intently now, waiting for me to say 'yes'. Predictable as I was, I agreed.

He blinked as he smiled at my predictability. He nodded and ran a hand through his loose hair before following the others. I zipped up my book bag, and waited. 

He came from the locker rooms and down the hall to meet me slouched against my locker.

"Hey," he ran a hand through his frayed brown hair. Weak smile, "Hey."

We walked down the hallway, past the lockers, and out the door. "I'm sorry." We stopped and he turned to me. I raised a cynical brow. "You're sorry?"

"That's what I said." He started walking and I followed. 

"Just making sure- being a small town hick you wish you'd never met."

He wiped a pink cheek with his hand. "Sorry about that too." 

"What changed your mind?" 

"Jett."

"Really?" 

"Yeah. Really. Obviously noticed the complete lack of words between us, decided to say something." 

I kicked a stone by my foot. "Always the superhero."

"There was just one problem with that though." He grabbed my arm making me look up at him. 

"Yeah, what's that?" 

"Even Silverstone can't get his desired results." With that he kissed me, and I couldn't help but kiss him back, not pausing to let go."

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End file.
